A Game and An Investment

I had written much about Splinterlands, its characters, the game plan, and rules that govern a game. All of these thoughts were just from a few months of my experience with the game. That goes to show how easy the game is to understand while being extremely captivating. Numerous permutations and combinations can come to play during a game. But that is not the end.

There is more to this game than just the excitement and fun. The game presents an excellent investment opportunity with ever-increasing returns. What am I talking about?

Let's take a look, but before that, let's understand a bit about the game for the newbies.

What Game is Splinterlands?

Well, it is one of the earliest blockchain-based collectible games. Though I started playing the game quite late, on hindsight, I should have had got going early. Anyway, no need to despair, there is so many opportunities no matter when you start.

Splinterlands is a digital card game which allows you to collect, trade, battle, rent and even earn on the cards. It is one of the most generous games that I have seen where cards, potions, Dark Energy Crystals (DEC. Cryptocurrency) are given out every day to thousands of players for just playing and winning daily quests. And there are tournaments or guilds that you can join.

Just to give you an idea of few of the uber-expensive cards, take a look at this recent purchase of Prince Julian at USD 3500.

Card Purchase Contract: Gold Foil Prince Julian

Did you go to the link and see for yourself? I hope you did. And I hope that gives an overview of the game. I just love the game, and those interested can go to Splinterlands' site and join. If you want a link to join, I will leave one at the end of the article which you can use.

Scroll down, quick. 😊

Splinterlands the Investment Avenue

There are enough and more posts about the game, and I am sure readers can have a look. Of course, those interested can even head to the game portal to have fun, but then wasn't this article about the investment opportunity that the game presented?

Yes, it is. So, let's look at that. Now, I have to confess that I signed-up on the site about a year and a half ago but started playing only about a few months back. That is when I realized how good an opportunity was lost by not trying out the site for so long.

I am sure, theoretical discussions are not going to lead anywhere, and you would like to know what I put in the game and how much were the returns, right? So, here it is.

Table 1: Bought Cost

I have spent about USD 61 since I bought the starter pack to get started with the game. After the initial purchase, I made different purchases of summoners and cards.

Let's compare this with the current value of cards. Here it is.

Table 2: Current Value

That gives a total of USD 100 value. If you are like me then you would be wondering what is so great about USD 40 in profit, wouldn't you? But let's put this in perspective to understand why it is quite a figure.

And here is why:

1. I have been playing and buying cards only for a few months. Which means, the price appreciation has happened over a few months and not in years
2. A good part of the buying that I did was from resources (DEC and Credits) generated from the game. Which means, the entire 60 USD did not go from my pocket but much lesser than that value

These two reasons give you a perspective of the value generated. I am sure even in the case of stocks when you hit a profit value of USD 40 per share, you would be excited. Only in the case of stocks you would buy more quantity or give it more time to generate more profits. The same applies to the game.

But that's just one part of the increase in value that the game presents. There are many more.

Let's see a few.

Value Generators

There are several value generators in the game, and we will look at a few of them.

Dark Energy Crystals (DEC)

DEC is the base crypto-token of the game and can be traded for other cryptocurrencies. Players can choose to buy the DEC from either of the markets available right now – hive-engine.com OR steem-engine.com – or continue to earn them from winning battles. It is as simple as that.

The game allows buying cards (another asset type) with DECs. This means that if we earn sufficient DECs from the game, the same can be used to buy assets which have their own value. How cool is that? All that you need to do is have fun and keep earning.

Playing Digital Cards

The Digital Cards are the next asset class within the game which has its own intrinsic value based on the rarity of the card. Following the economics of demand and supply, the card has a higher value as the amount of supply is constrained. The link which was shared under the * "What Game is Splinterlands" talks about one card which was sold for USD 3500. That's a lot of money for selling an asset generated within the game.

In other words, you can play to win DECs and Cards OR use DECs to buy Cards, and these cards also have value. No matter how much or how less fun you are having, you end up making money in the game. Much like the principles of economics, you invest, if you want higher and better returns. The choice is yours!

Well Oiled Economy

While players can benefit from just earning Cards and DECs, Splinterlands, additionally, provides an economy to support both the assets. As such, buying and selling is accessible without having to worry about how to do it.

Also, the economy allows for renting and transfer of cards. The owner gets to set the value of such rentals. The card, therefore, need not be sold to realize its value but can be rented to earn as well. Not a bad idea, huh? 😊

So, these few things make the Splinterlands' economy worth it. I tried it too late and would recommend for you to try it out as soon as possible. If you don't like it, you always have a choice to leave the game, but I suspect that that wouldn't be the case.

Come around and have a look.

I Hope You Got the Larger Picture

The idea of the post was to show that Splinterlands is not just a great game but also a great investment avenue. I hope you can appreciate that part from the examples and my own investment to current value chart. It is a fun place to be and to be able to make money while having fun is just next level!!

Have fun!

Want to Join Splinterlands?

You can click below and follow the link. All the best!

JOIN SPLINTERLANDS

 

Image Courtesy: Splinterlands